Other views: Real action needed to stop carp

In an unusual show of bipartisan agreement, the 16 senators from the Great Lakes states called for swift action to stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to release a report in January on ways to permanently prevent the invasive species from entering the Great Lakes. In their letter last week, the senators called on the Corps to "work with Congress, our staff and regional stakeholders before and after the report is issued so that we can expeditiously determine how to best move forward with a comprehensive approach to address Asian Carp and other aquatic invasive species."

In other words, let's get cracking.

We couldn't agree more.

The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study has been six years in the making, since the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 required the Corps to study ways to stop the spread of invasive species.

Now there is renewed urgency to do something other than talk about the issue.

Some of that urgency is a result of the enthusiasm for the upcoming report and frustration that it has taken this long. How long should it take to research options for stopping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes?

We've known about the presence of the species for years, along with the destruction it can do. In 2002, it was reported in the Illinois River, 25 miles south of Chicago, and headed north to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which connects to Lake Michigan.

Yet, more than 10 years later, we are still awaiting a plan to stop the spread of the invasive species. Some of that urgency is a result of a recent DNA test. Asian carp DNA has been detected in two water samples from Lake Michigan - the first in 2010 from Calumet Harbor in Chicago and the second from a sample taken in May from Sturgeon Bay.

According to scientists, those positive tests could be from dead fish or feces from birds that have eaten the fish or from fish scales, mucus and bodily waste discharged into the water. Or they could be from actual Asian carp. And once they're in, they need as few as 10 females and 10 males to establish a breeding population and once established, they're almost impossible to get rid of.

Some of the urgency is a result of the damage its presence could do to the Great Lakes ecosystem and the Great Lakes fisheries - a commercial and sport industry worth about $7 billion.

We understand that a report on blocking Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes needs to take a number of complex issues into consideration - from transportation issues to wastewater handling - and therefore takes some time.

But now that the release of that report is two months away, we need to be sure Congress and the Corps will quickly identify a solution and put it into play. The potential effect of Asian carp is devastating enough that it galvanized 16 senators from eight states to work together to spur some action. That's how important this issue is.

ServingManitowoc|Two Rivers|Wisconsin

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Other views: Real action needed to stop carp

In an unusual show of bipartisan agreement, the 16 senators from the Great Lakes states called for swift action to stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.

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